Environmental and social standards, certification and labelling for cash crops
FAO Commodities and Trade technical paper Series, Vol. 2

Workplace safety and environmental sustainability can be promoted by agreed standards, certification and labelling. Relevant standards for cash crops in developing countries are reviewed here, including organic agriculture, fair-trade labelling, Social Accountability-8000, the Rainforest Alliance's Sustainable Agriculture Programme, the Ethical Trading Initiative, ISO-14001 and EurepGap. The origins of these initiatives, their scope and certification system are explored. In addition, this publication discusses stakeholder involvement, the standard-setting process, verification methods, the relationship with World Trade Oganization agreements and the potential role of governments. Twenty-two case studies on the impact of these standards and certification programmes on production costs and revenues for farmers in developing countries are presented, in addition to the latest data available on the markets for certified and labelled bananas, coffee, tea and citrus. This publication will be useful to governments, private companies and non-governmental organizations facing complex decisions regarding environmental and social standards, certification and labelling.